


A Knightly Romance

by Ndddd97



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:46:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23341927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ndddd97/pseuds/Ndddd97
Summary: Ingrid invited Byleth for a walk, but soon changed into a date over the course of time
Relationships: Ingrid Brandl Galatea/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 2
Kudos: 39
Collections: Those Who Drabble in the Dark - Guess the Author





	A Knightly Romance

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Felannie Server Guess The Author, or GTA Challenge (The reason for the image of course). And the prompt was: The Reasons Why.
> 
> Enjoy reading!!

“I’m regretting this already” Ingrid regrettably said to herself as she let her face getting attacked by Dorothea constantly applying makeup on her, while her hair getting combed by kind Mercedes from behind her while Annette was in the middle of choosing a perfect shawl for her to wear, similar to Mercedes, from her trunk. All the while, she just sitting on the chair motionlessly letting them did this to her.

“Just relax Ingrid, my dear. This is all part of your preparation for your date with your Professor” Dorothea tried to make Ingrid comfortable as she dusted powder onto Ingrid’s cheeks making her coughed a bit.

“First of all, it’s not a date. And second of all, I could just wear my normal uniform and-“ She argued back but only to have her cheeks clasped by Dorothea, who was at odds with her best friend right now.

“That wouldn’t do, my Ingrid!! If you want the professor to know how much you care and love him, you have to dress the part!!” Dorothea tried to reason with her and reached down to a small crate next to her, containing all the makeup stuffs that she didn’t have knowledge of as Ingrid let out a sigh of desperation. Truth to be told, Ingrid had little care over girly stuff, unlike her friends Mercedes, Annette, and Dorothea. Maybe it was her upbringing, as they said, would shape what they are and who they will be in the future. Since she hung out with Sylvain, Dimitri, Felix and his brother Glenn so much that she would only care about pursuing her goal of becoming a knight and caring less for other mundane pursuits. Though she would later find out that she would be shy away from girly stuff, from her encounter with Annette.

“Relax Ingrid, she just tried to help with your Professor date that’s all” Mercedes, still combing Ingrid’s hair, tried to assure her with her calm and soothing motherly voice, that managed to calm all who heard it.

“Again, it’s just a walk. Not a date!” Ingrid denied again though the three still adamant in calling it ‘a date’.

“Which do you think looks best for her, Mercie?” Annette came back with several shawls on her arms, all were white, turquoise, teal or shade of blue in color with several different patterns.

“Why do I need that for?” Ingrid questioned the shawls Annette was holding as she showed several to Mercedes, who stopped combing to look at them.

“Oh you will know soon enough, Ingrid dear” Dorothea spoke with mischievous tone in her voice making Ingrid more nervous and afraid as she braced herself for the worse to come. After what appeared to be a long torturous and excruciating makeup session, Ingrid was free from her prison, but only for her to realize how ridiculous she looked.

“I look ridiculous!” She said to herself looking at herself in the mirror as her friends all marveled at their handiwork with Dorothea's eyes shone with pride.

“Oh don’t be like that, Ingrid. You look wonderful” Mercedes reassure her as Ingrid looked at herself one last time in the mirror. Her feminine feature was now more visible on her face thanked to Dorothea’s makeup, her usual braided blond hair was undone and let flow freely with a braided section on the back of her head and a teal green-colored ribbon tied around the section. Her blazer was taken off, leaving her white shirt on and she now carried a turquoise-colored shawl with stars pattern on them and two vertical lines at the end of it. All to make her looked more feminine as they said, but she still looked ridiculous in her eyes.

“Still look ridiculous to me”

“Deny however you want, Ingrid dear. I guarantee you that the Professor would fall head-over-heels over you Ingrid” While the phrase was meant to be taken figurative as Ingrid would know, she, however, imagined the literal meaning of the phrase when her Professor saw how utterly ridiculous she was.

“It’s time to go now. Come on Ingrid” Dorothea suddenly grabbed her from behind and dragged her out to the door as Ingrid became startled and surprised by Dorothea’s diva strength. The door flung open as Ingrid was tossed to outside nearly falling over, but was able to regain her balance and stand properly.

“Warn me next time when you do that, Dorothea!?!?” Ingrid scolded Dorothea for her sudden action as Dorothea, Annette and Mercedes were at the doorway to Dorothea’s room.

“Good luck out there, Ingrid. Tell us all about your date with Professor tomorrow” Annette wished her good luck as she slowly pushed the door in.

“Wait!?? I’m not finish-“ Before closing the door leaving her standing awkwardly and embarrassed. Ingrid looked around the dormitories to see if her friends and classmates were there. Fortune smiled on her as no one was there to witness her horrible get-up.

“I guess I should get going then” Ingrid then set off to her destination as she left the dormitory and went straight to the main entrance. While she was able to remain calm, her movement was rather stiff and rigid making it seemed like she was very nervous, and it was indeed the truth. She was unsure of how her ‘date’, while in actuality it was just a walk with him, would turn out. Sure, she had shared her hobbies and some bits of her personal life to him during many of their tea discussion, but to do this on a more personal level? Never!

Thinking about it now made her movements much more stiff and rigid, turning her into a walking statue more than a human being. The more she thought over how her date with her Professor would go, she would become more and more nervous about it. And she would be a real wreck soon if she couldn’t stop being nervous. As Ingrid tried to think of ways to calm herself, a certain scene came up in her mind slowly materializing. As the scene materialized, Ingrid remembered and relived the moment she asked him out for a walk, originally.

“Do you have a moment, Professor?” Ingrid asked holding the book with her left arm as her professor was packing up his teaching materials.

“You have something to ask about the lesson today, Ingrid?” Byleth asked with his usual apathetic tone, but with a slight hint of emotion in it.

“Oh, I don’t have any problems with the lesson. But rather, it’s... uhm...” Her nervousness suddenly got to her as she turned away from him with her right hand on her left arm as her professor looked at her with concern.

“Is there... something wrong?” He asked her now with genuine concern in his tone as she quickly turned to look at him with visible blush on her cheeks trying to clear up her professor’s misunderstanding.

“O-Oh nothing’s wrong here. I-It just that...” As she tried to explain, her nervousness got better of her, preventing her from saying what she wanted to while her professor looked at her awkwardly. Eventually, she calmed down, only for a bit, and composed herself before finally saying what she wanted to in the first place.

“D-Do you... w-want to go out with me?” Nervousness still crept onto her but she managed to say what she wanted to as her professor just stared at her in confusion. Her blush now got redder and redder in embarrassment, internally cursing herself for not clearly clarifying what she meant to say to him.

“Go out... for a walk?” He corrected her as Ingrid let out a shy smile and rubbed the back of her head at her blunder.

“A-Ah yes, that’s it. G-Go out for a walk” Giggled embarrassingly as her professor giggled at her before returning to his neutral face.

“This is quite odd of you for asking me out for a walk” Her professor said while still packing up some papers and teaching materials.

“And why is that, Professor?” She asked tilting her head at him curiously while her professor was done packing up the teaching materials and papers as well.

“Because you always avoid me whenever you see me...” Ingrid snapped out of her trance as she stood frozen while some students passing her either ignored her or stared at her. She hung her head down and let out a sigh as she looked around her surroundings. She realized that she hadn’t walked far away from the dorm area, only a couple of feet away from it. Turning around to see a familiar barrel standing outside of a familiar door that she has entered many times now. She stared at the door and then looked at the sky to see the sun slowing descended into the horizon, where night and day met. She turned to look at the door once more before she picked up her legs and headed there without second thought or doubt.

\----------

Doing paperwork was a normal occurrence for our dear professor. In fact, even with the added paperwork from the newly recruited students, he didn’t mind the extra paperwork as he used to be in a pile of paperwork before. Whether it was the Church’s paperwork, his students’ exams, and assignments, or the teaching materials, he just did them all with precision and thoroughness. As he graded some of his students’ exams, he would stop at Ingrid’s exam paper, not by curiosity but by instinct. He had been pondering for himself for quite a while now, about this... quirk of his. It didn’t start during his first few weeks teaching, but as time moved on he would notice it and this odd behavior would become more evident. For every action he did, his quirk would act up when a name came up or mentioned. Not just any name, one particular name specifically. Ingrid Brandl Galatea.

Byleth didn’t think much of her and the Blue Lions class during his first month teaching as he only thought about their strengths and weaknesses within the battlefield. But the more he interacted with them, the more he started to understand them and their feelings, and Ingrid was no different. He would find that Ingrid was a hardworking, serious and determined student with a simple dream of becoming a knight. She liked reading many stories about knighthood, riding horses and pegasi alike and of course her craving of food, meat in particular. But as he discovered, many of his Blue Lions students would have personal trouble of their own. For Ingrid’s case, it was her struggle to help her territory to grow and achieve her dream and her mental trauma of losing Glenn as he would find out after his father died, with the latter was resolved during that same day.

He reclined on his chair looking up at the ceiling as he would ponder on his relationship with her. His mind wandered through many conversations they had, mostly friendly ones about her hobbies and interests, and some serious ones like her training and discussing tactics with her. It somewhat made him feel relax whenever he talked with her, even though he didn’t know what relaxation mean to him. He also noticed an unknown feeling exist within him whenever he was around her, though it was very faint for him to notice... not until now.

After the mission last month, Ingrid exhibited some odd behaviors such as, most evidently, her avoiding him. Whenever he came to sit at the table with her, she would either eat in silence or go to another table to eat. Whenever they trained, she would have this cold tone when she talked with him. And whenever he came to meet her, she would actively try to avoid him however she can. Byleth didn’t mind at first, but more and more he would feel... shunned by her. The more she avoided him, the more this unknown feeling of his ached. Why did she keep avoiding him? Was it... the change that made her distance herself from him? A knock on his door eventually, and unfortunately, woke him up from his train of thought as he glanced at his door.

“Just give me a minute!” He said out loud to the person knocking on the door as he quickly looked over Ingrid’s paper and graded her exam. He organized the desk as quick and tidy as he could before leaving the desk to open the door.

“I’m sorry that I let you waiting-” As he opened the door, he was met not by a stranger but rather a familiar blond-haired female student. Despite wearing entirely new clothes and having different hairstyles, he instantly recognized her just from her facial features and the hair alone.

“I look ridiculous!” Ingrid said looking into the barrel, which was odd, as she examined her look, not noticing that her professor was there at the doorway looking at her. He locked the door quietly behind him and went over to her. Even with him approaching her, Ingrid seemed to be more occupied with her look as there was a look of dissatisfaction on her when she looked into her reflection in the water, which was in the barrel. He leaned forward slightly so that his reflection was also present alongside hers so she could notice him. Took her seconds to recognize he was there as she startled from his presence and jumped backward away from him and the barrel.

“Ah, Professor?!!? You scare me!!” She said slightly frightened and jumped back away from him as Byleth let out a giggle and stood up straight.

“You were occupied with your look, so I have to make myself present so you could notice. But it was rude of me to do so. I apologize” He apologized to her as she quickly fixed her posture and cleared her throat.

“A-Ah yes, please don’t it again... S-So can we get going?” Ingrid asked shyly gaining a faint blush on her cheeks as she realized herself that she already got nervous from asking him out just like before. Her professor seemed to notice her nervousness but decided to ignore it.

“Yes. Let’s go before it’s getting late” Both eventually left the dormitory and made their way to the town just outside of the monastery as the sky turned into the night once the day had set. She had expected the walk with her professor to be very nerve-wracking to both her body and her soul. But oddly enough, walking alongside him somehow made her forget all the nervousness she got originally as she was able to walk properly without feeling nervous. But of course, she had to walk ladylike just like Mercedes had taught her before their makeup session.

“The things I do for this ‘date’ of mine” Her mind cursed at herself as she began the posture for her ‘ladylike’ walk, starting with straightening her back. After that, she held her hands just slightly below her chest and eased her shoulders of tension so the fabric draped around her shoulders could rest gently. Now here came the hard part, she had to do the ‘lady’ walk that she had been forced to practice it. Letting out a faint sigh, she readied to correct her walk to feel more ‘ladylike’ to her professor. After some correction, her walk now carried a graceful and feminine charm to it with slow and small steps, as she gracefully moved her feet side-to-side.

While she felt proud that she managed to pull off the walk, she was disappointed that her professor didn’t remark on her new walk as he was busy looking at the night sky. Though to be honest, she would also find the night sky to be quite mesmerizing indeed. Like a painting she once saw, the night sky was a beautiful blend of black and blue with many stars scattered across and danced around it shining brighter than others, without the clouds obscuring it. Her sense tingling as she turned sharply around, only to see him looking at the sky once more.

“Nothing to report here. And I wish you a good evening, Professor” The gatekeeper reported to her professor as they passed by the front entrance. Her professor nodded at him briefly before the two marched on and finally reached the town.

Even during the night, the town was bustling as ever with a crowd of people walking down the stone roadway, shops and houses alike lit up brightened the road along with the tall street lamps lined along the road. As the two walked along the stone road observing the festivity around them, a sudden rumbling sound was heard. The sound was not loud to say, but it was audible enough for the two to notice as they came to a halt after hearing it. The sound let out once again as Ingrid immediately realized that the rumbling sound was from... what else, her own stomach.

“Hungry, Ingrid?” Her professor asked politely tilting his head at her with his neutral face as Ingrid quickly covered her stomach and blushed embarrassingly from having her Professor hearing her stomach growl.

“Y-Yes, Professor” She shyly answered as her professor let a giggle before looking around to see if there was a restaurant nearby for them to dine in. Luckily for him, he spotted one close to them, in fact, it was next to Ingrid, inches away from her. Ingrid looked at the direction where he was looking and objected at his suggestion as her face distorted into a disagreeing face. This outing of her was meant to be a simple walk around the town, nothing more than a date even though she was dressed properly for a date.

“I don’t think the restaurant would be necessary. We could just eat a meat skewer he-“ Her stomach growled at her, preventing her from pointing at a nearby food stall and forcing her to quickly covered her stomach once again. He let out a slight chuckle at her as she blushed harder and harder.

“Your stomach doesn’t take no for answer apparently. C’mon, let’s just eat before your stomach scares the people here” He unintentionally jested at her stomach as she slightly giggled and nodded at him. The two then proceeded to enter the restaurant, but with Byleth opening the door for her and gesturing her to enter in first.

“Lady first” Ingrid giggled at his silly polite gesture, but she went in anyway as Byleth closed the door behind him. The restaurant, both inside and outside, was modest and humble, not extravagant in the way that would turn off those who visited the restaurant. Since it was early in the evening, not many were there so the two easily found the table of their own. Byleth pulled a chair out slightly for her to sit on as Ingrid playfully rolled her eyes at his silly gentleman gesture. But nonetheless, she accepted his kind gesture and sat on the chair as Byleth sat on his as well. The two then ordered their food and waited while engaging in small talk. To be honest, Ingrid was expecting the whole ordeal to be nerve-wracking and disaster for her, instead she was having a nice and easy-going conversation with him. No word fumbling, no stuttering, no awkwardness between them and no awkward eye contact. The waitress arrived as she put down their food onto the table. Byleth ordered a big and healthy pheasant roast draped with blackberry sauce and companied by pieces of cut vegetables all around the meat, big enough for two to eat. Ingrid’s eyes shone once she saw the dish and imagined herself drooling over such a dish as her professor just smiled at her.

“Let’s dine in!” Grabbing the utensils, Byleth and Ingrid dined in taking pieces of the pheasant and vegetables and bringing them to their mouth. With every bite, chew and swallow, Ingrid would relish the rich flavor of the roasted pheasant, the sweetness of the sauce and the soft vegetable pieces. Ingrid was in heaven as she ate the roast with much delight and joy as her professor just looked at her and smiled eating his food as well. Soon enough, the restaurant was packed with people as time went on. Byleth took a look around, lots of people came to eat like them and enjoyed the night as well. The two would soon finish their meal as Ingrid reclined back and let out a satisfying sigh.

“I’ve never felt this full my entire life!” She said feeling her stomach full and no longer growl as her professor wiped the food off his mouth with a napkin. He took a look at her and began to speak up.

“You have a bit of food on your cheek, Ingrid” Said the professor pointing at the spot on her face where the food left behind, Ingrid grabbed a napkin and wiped it off only to see her professor giggling at her.

“Let me get it for you” He grabbed a nearby napkin and leaned in forward her to dab her cheek. She was taken surprise by his sudden action resulting in her blushing, but not being embarrassed about it.

“T-Thank you, Professor” She thanked him shyly as he just nodded at her. The two eventually paid their meal and returned to the stone road to begin their walk again. By now, the road was more bustling than before with a large crowd of people and many stalls set up. The two eventually reached the town square, where the marketplace usually located with many stalls selling different commodities such as food, minerals, and products from three territories. And around the marketplace stood a large water fountain with the statue of a woman playing a harp standing in the middle of the fountain.

“So what do you want to do next, Ingrid?” Her professor asked as Ingrid tilted her head thinking with her finger lightly tapped on her cheek. To be honest, she didn’t plan that far into this ‘walk’ with her professor as she only thought of it as a nice pleasant walk with him. But after that dinner with him, maybe it was an actual date more than a walk than she had expected it to be.

“I don’t know. I thought we could have fun walking around town-“ A sudden music caught into her ears as she turned her head to see people dancing with a group of people singing around a water foundation at the center of the town. Byleth looked in Ingrid’s direction and saw the performance as well.

“Let’s check out, shall we?” With Ingrid’s nod, both eventually approached the crowd of people gathering around the water fountain. They stood behind the line of people circling around as they watched the people danced and the group of people sang. Sailors, judging by their clothes, were playing singing a very particular shanty, one that he could remember during his time in the Leicester Alliance when they have to fend off ocean raiders off the coast of Derdriu. He hummed along with the song and watched on until the song came to an end as the pairs bowed to each other and returned to the line with the crowd applauding.

“Okay folks! Which lads and lassies want to dance next for our big song?” The chubby sailor asked out loud with enthusiasm as men and women paired up stepped into the empty space before the sailors.

“Want to dance, Ingrid?” He asked kindly at her and grasped her hand causing her to look at their joined hand and blushed from it. She then looked at her professor who was anticipating her answer as she looked away slightly.

“I’m really not good at dancing myself. But I can at least try out” She answered with slight hesitation before looking at her professor again who gave her a nod of understanding. Byleth led her into the dance and stood among other pairs of men and women awkwardly. With their clothes and hair, they stuck out like a sore thumb among the people gathered around but no one seemed to mind them. But that didn’t help Ingrid from feeling very awkward in front of the large crowd with her professor.

“Okay, boys! Let’s start the festivity” The chubby sailor said once again as another sailor started clapping his hand creating the beat and rhythm of the song while others preparing.

“Just follow my lead” Byleth reassured her letting Ingrid know that he will lead her as Ingrid swallowed the lump in her throat and anxiously waiting. Remembering the song full well, Byleth knew that the song would come soon. After a few beats, the song eventually came. 

_What will we do with the drunken sailor?_  
_What will we do with the drunken sailor?_  
_What will we do with the drunken sailor?_  
_Early in the morning!_

Byleth grasped two of Ingrid’s hands across each other’s arms as they joined with the other pairs circling around like sails of the windmill. After a few rounds, Byleth brought Ingrid from his right to his left under his arms as Ingrid turned around to face him. She put her arm on his shoulder while he put his onto her back while holding each other’s hand as they spun around along with the other pairs. The first part got Ingrid by surprise as she didn’t expect to be holding her professor’s hands all the time, but he was leading her so she kind of expected it to happen. She would eventually get comfortable when she and her professor performed a waltz dance along with other pairs.

“Comfortable Ingrid?” He asked her with the sudden sweetness in his voice that got her to blush even though she was already blushing from the handholding.

“M-Maybe” Her eyes shifted slightly away from him as her professor just giggled and smiled at her, while still twirling around to the beat of the song and listening to it.

_Shave his belly with a rusty razor_  
_Shave his belly with a rusty razor_  
_Shave his belly with a rusty razor_  
_Early in the morning!_

_Way hay and up she rises!_  
_Way hay and up she rises!_  
_Way hay and up she rises!_  
_Early in the morning!_

From the singing alone, Ingrid would guess that they were having fun singing that song. As she and her professor continued to twirl around each other in their waltz dance, Byleth spoke up.

“It’s time to switch dance partner. Are you ready?” Ingrid nodded hesitantly as Byleth immediately let go of her and danced with another female dance partner and her dancing with a male partner. Despite it was just for fun, she felt an odd sense of wanting when she saw her professor dancing with a female student, judging from her clothes.

_Put him in a longboat till he's sober_  
_Put him in a longboat till he's sober_  
_Put him in a longboat till he's sober_  
_Early in the morning!_

They switched again and the feelings grew more and more as she watched her professor dancing with female townsfolk. She read his face this time and saw him wearing... unsatisfactory expression? 

_Way hay and up she rises!_  
_Way hay and up she rises!_  
_Way hay and up she rises!_  
_Early in the morning!_

They switched partners again and he still wearing the same unsatisfactory face once more. Ingrid wondered if her professor felt the same feeling of wanting just like she did. The song entered a brief pause where only the sound of one sailor’s clapping carried the song through. Byleth took a glance at Ingrid who immediately shifted her head and eyes to look at her dance partner. The song picked up again and eventually he reunited with Ingrid again as both now smiled at each other despite only separated for few moments.

“Miss me already, Ingrid?” He jested as Ingrid let out a light giggle at him.

“And I suppose you probably miss me too” She jested back at him making him let out a chuckle as the two continued to twirl around along with other pairs. Eventually, the song would soon reach its conclusion as the sailors sang with much more energy than they did at the start of the song.

“Ready for the twirl, Ingrid?” Her professor anticipated as Ingrid nodded eagerly readying to do the twirl her professor told her.  
  
_Way hay and up she rises!_  
_Way hay and up she rises!_  
_Way hay and up she rises!_  
_Early in the morning!_

At that moment, Ingrid released her grasp on his shoulder bracing herself as Byleth gently raised his hand up and twirled her under his arm. As she gracefully spun around and turned to face him again, they smiled at each other and continued their waltz dance until the very end of the song. With the only few beats left, the song eventually ended with the dancers, including Byleth and Ingrid, bowed to each other and to the audience as they applauded at the performance.

“I have never had this much fun in my left” Ingrid exclaimed as her professor gave her a warm smile as the two left the fountain area and walked up to the line of market stalls.

“I’m glad that you enjoy the dance. So how about we shop? We have a few more time before the curfew” He suggested with a happy expression on his face as Ingrid nodded accordingly. It was a pleasant walk around the marketplace for the two, they got to buy new weapons to try out, try out some accessories and clothes, and eat some food. Eventually, they returned back to the monastery as the marketplace slowly drifted off to sleep, people went back to their home and light slowly dimmed down. On their way back, the two managed to get the meat skewers from one of the food stalls as Ingrid took delight in chewing the meat on the skewer.

“I have fun walking you, Ingrid” Her professor said nibbling on the meat skewer as she shyly smiled with blushed appeared on her pouted cheeks while still chewing on the meat. She eventually swallowed her meat down and spoke up.

“I-I’m glad that you have fun, Professor. I’m just afraid that you might not like it” Her professor just let out a slight giggle with a face she could assume to be a happy one. By the time the two reached the front entrance, they had finished eating their meat skewers and while Byleth had the intention of throwing away the skewers, Ingrid insisted on keeping them.

“Nothing to report here, Professor!” The gatekeeper saluted and reported in as always as the two entered the monastery. The two eventually made it to the dormitory where Byleth escorted her to her room. They arrived at her door and stood there awkwardly looking at each other.

“I can’t thank you enough for taking a walk with me, Professor” Despite thanking him for taking a walk with her, her face and tone spoke otherwise as sadness and regret came instead of gratitude as she looked away from him hiding her feelings from him. She would expect him to thank her and return to his room. But instead...

“Why did you avoid me, Ingrid?” He spoke up as she quickly turned to look at his face to see his sadness finally crept onto him. She stood frozen and felt nothing but guilt to her professor as she hung her head down remembering all the time she avoided him.

“When I went to eat with you, train with you, or talk with you, you treated me like a stranger. Like the first time I started teaching you all, treating you all like a complete stranger” Sadness companied his tone as Ingrid felt guiltier for abandoning him.

“Was it... the change that I went through during our last mission? Was it... the reason why you abandoned me?” His words cut her deep into her heart as her hands gripped tightly onto the shawl before her chest feeling the regret and guilt for her action towards him. Ultimately, she couldn’t take it no more and confess to him.

“I thought that... I might lose you” Her Professor was taken by surprise when she finally gave him the reason for her avoidance, and one that also wounded him as he remembered what happened during the mission.

“When you were trapped inside that dark hole, I thought you might have gone forever and never returned again. At that moment, I did nothing more than just stood frozen feeling broken” Ingrid told with great sadness as Byleth remembered the moment that got him to this point. Reckless and revenge-filled, he had made himself caught in the enemies’ trap and trapped in the never-ending darkness alone without the chances of going back. It was there, where Sothis made a sacrifice and merged with him so he could escape the dark void. Thinking back now, he deeply regretted his action and now he felt more regret when the person cared much for him is now standing before him.

“When you came back from the dark void, I was beyond relieved to see you still alive and still fighting again” She lifted her head up wearing a relieved smile at him as her professor smiled back knowing that his return would make her happy again.

“Even with you came back though, I felt... distant from you, Professor” Her smile soon dropped as she looked away from him with guilt written on her face. Byleth, knowing where this might lead, waited for her reason for her avoidance as his mind went through many possible answers she could give.

“Though my heart was telling it was you, my mind told me otherwise” She gave her reason for her avoidance as Byleth had expected it to be. His sudden change had caused her mind to act irrationally thus making her distance herself from him and avoid him because of it.

“What did your mind tell you?” He asked as for clarity as her hands tugging onto her shawl tighter while still looking away from him.

“That you became someone else. Someone that no longer resembled you. And so I avoided you at all cost thinking that you were someone else” She told him with regret as a single tear flowing down her cheek. Her professor approached her and wiped off the tear with his thumb as Ingrid still looked away from him.

“I’m sorry for abandoning you, Ingrid” He apologized as Ingrid turned to look at him with her emerald eyes to see his sadness visible on his face.

“I too apologize for abandoning you... Byleth” She too apologized to him and let out a warm smile at him as Byleth stared at her, now wearing a relieved smile. The comfort and relief he felt helped him ease of all the guilt and sorrow he had for the action he did to make her suffer. As both looked into each other’s eyes feeling the warmth and relief that they gave to each other easing off the guilt and regret.

“Do you know the feelings I felt during the dance?” He spoke up as he placed his hand gently onto her cheek and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him so that their face mere inches away from each other. Ingrid blushed but did not shy away from as she would rest her hand against his cheek and her other hand on the back of his head.

“I do, Byleth. I felt it too” Without hesitation, the two leaned forward in and planted their lips onto each other’s as they shared their first-ever passionate and loving kiss for one another. The two could feel the emanating feelings from their kiss as they pulled each other closer and deepened the kiss to feel this emotion between them. This emotion would soon unravel to be the feelings of wanting. Wanting to be with each other, to be together, to accompany one another, and to be there when one needed as Ingrid and Byleth would find out. The kiss deepened further as Byleth moved his hand from her cheek to the back of her head caressing her hair while Ingrid wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling the passion they had for each other. They wished they could go on kissing but eventually, their need for air would break their kiss as the two pushed each other apart and breathed in the air they needed. They stared into their eyes once last time before they eventually broke the hug, not without feeling embarrassed and smitten about it.

“H-Here is your stuff” Byleth gave her the stuff they bought at the place as he rubbed his nape while blushing from the kiss. Ingrid, holding the stuff with her one arm, opened the door to her room as she entered her room, being smitten by the kiss.

“T-Thank you, Professor. I-I will see you tomorrow then” She bid him goodbye as her professor bowed to her and went back to his room. Once she closed the door, she leaned against the door and touched her lips feeling the first genuine love in their kiss. She giggled as she unpacked her stuff and began her nightly routine.

\------The Next Day------

“Do you have a moment, Professor?” Ingrid asked holding the book with her left arm as her professor was packing up his teaching materials. Her professor now looked at her with a warm smile as she smiled at him back.

“Do you need something, Ingrid?” He asked while going back to pack up his teaching material.

“You wouldn’t mind if I call you... by your real name? Of course, I can still address you as Professor, but only between you and me?” Her professor was taken by surprise by her question as he looked at her to see her slightly blushed and her eyes shifted away from him. Her professor just giggled upon seeing her blushed from just asking his permission, but he couldn’t blame her since both of them confessed their love yesterday through the kiss after all.

“Of course, Ingrid. You can call me by my name when it only between us. You don’t have to ask for my permission to do so” He answered back while he was done packing up his teaching materials as Ingrid just giggled at her own expense.

“Anyway, that’s all I want to talk with you. Goodbye, Professor” She bowed to him and walked to the door holding her books before her chest, but not before she stopped halfway to the door. 

“Thank you... for everything last night, Byleth” She thanked him sincerely as she left the classroom completely leaving Byleth to smile warmly at her.

“No, I should thank you, Ingrid. For helping me realize how much I love you and want to be with you” He finished packing his teaching material and left the classroom as well, before taking a quick glance at the classroom. Knowing that the students will soon graduate this year, Byleth would miss them dearly and Ingrid especially. If he had confessed her love sooner, they would have spent more time together, but at last, that wasn’t the case. But nonetheless, he would surely miss them and her especially as he left the classroom with an opened smile.


End file.
